Arc faults are hazardous events that can occur in photovoltaic systems. Unmitigated arc faults can result in system outages and cause fires that are life-threatening and damaging to the industry. Yet, characterizing the risk of arc faults remains a challenge. Various causes can contribute to this risk, such as aging electrical connectors, degrading photovoltaic modules, and interplays thereof; but critical data to derive a model for assessing risk are still missing. Thus, there is a need for systems and methods capable of obtaining such data to facilitate arc fault prognostics.